We all have a Superpower to better Understand Others
1. Customer Service Feature Story
We all have a Superpower to better Understand Others
We spend much of our time trying to understand what our customers, employees, significant others, and children really mean by what they say or don’t say. Too often we try to analyze, decode, or judge without ever knowing what is going on.
“Empathy is a real-life human superpower,” says Dr. Ali Hill, sociologist and emotional intelligence evangelist. “When we truly empathize with others, we come as close to reading minds as humans can get. When we turn off our analysis mechanisms and instead just listen and attempt to think from the other person’s point of view, the message becomes much clearer. When we empathize, we can actually feel what the other person is feeling. And when we can feel what someone else feels, then we inherently understand what they’re trying to communicate. Pretty powerful stuff, empathy.” 
Empathy is especially effective when paired with compassion. Compassion is the desire to help another person. Together empathy and compassion are the two most powerful soft skills employees can have. When you genuinely serve with compassion and empathy, your customer service rises to a completely different level. The challenge for most companies is how to teach these skills. How do you make them more than just buzzwords and platitudes? The answer is by having your employees constantly putting themselves in the shoes of the customer. When your employees really understand the customer’s plight, what they’re going through, the importance of each and every interaction becomes crystal clear.
*Related – How To Be A Great Relationship Builder
The ability to see things from the perspective of others is key to making a connection, building a relationship, and achieving overall business success. It allows you to explore other people’s viewpoints and the possibility that your opinion may be wrong.
I have admired people who always try to see things from the other person’s side, even when the other person appears to be completely in the wrong. For instance, let’s say you have just encountered a negative person being rude, someone we would call a jerk. Yet your friend says, “See it from their side . . . if you were in their shoes, you might feel and react the same way.” Having empathy, experts say, improves your leadership, teaches you to ask the right questions, boosts teamwork, and allows you to understand your customers. It is a powerful gift. 
Forging strong relationships relies on all these skills—being interested in someone else’s life, truly listening, and practicing empathy and compassion. They’re the building blocks of The Relationship Economy.
2. Client Best Practice
Above & Beyond Recognition Program
Shared by Jess Pischel, Customer Experience Consultant of The DiJulius Group
Excite Credit Union headquartered in San Jose, CA uses an intranet system called Kazoo. It resembles a social media platform where employees can acknowledge and celebrate any time a co-worker goes above and beyond. Each employee is given 5 “high-fives” per month that they can use. Every time an employee receives a “high-five” they earn points which they can then redeem for prizes, such as gift cards towards Starbucks, Airbnb, and other retail locations. You can also redeem for vacation days!
3. Short Video You Need To Watch & Share With Your Team
Watch this 1-minute video to see why today’s illiterate are those who have an inability to make a meaningful connection.
4. Quote Of The Week
“If you ask a question and don’t ask two or three follow-up questions, odds are you weren’t listening to the answer.”
— Tom Peters
5. Resource To Help Take Your Customer Experience To The Next Level
It is time to stop competing in price wars and start competing in experience wars.
Contact claudia@thedijuliusgroup.com and find out how we can help you become the brand customers can’t live without and make price irrelevant.
